Shooting Silk

I saw this while filming a crab spider bouncing around on a windy day. When I saw the silk being expelled I couldn't believe it had happened, the light hit it in just a couple frames. Yesterday I found an interesting talk at Google Talks. It was a little more detailed than my interest but you can get an idea of the incredible complexity of spider's silk between minutes 4-6 (approximately).

Crab Spider Eyes

Love those yellow eyes!  The spider in the upper half of the frame gives the illusion it is ready to pounce.  This is the last in my series from last week. Technical: slightly cropped. 1/2 second, f29, ISO 640 with 180 macro on a tripod, cable release.

Crab Spider on Lady Slipper

Continuing the exploration of the this lady slipper.  The spider is what originally attracted my attention with its white body on the green petal.  I would have expected it to be more camouflaged on the flower while waiting for lunch to land. The challenge of the composition was showing both the spider and flower but keeping the spider as the subject of the image.

Spier Motion

Sometimes video is the only way to share nature.  This spider was busy making its web one evening a couple months ago.  The movement and rhythm just cried out for a video capture.  This was made possible using the macro lens and using the video recording capability of the Canon 7D.  Filmed at Brown Co., MN.